Stratford Shakespeare Festival production history


This page describes the production history of the Stratford Festival
The Stratford Festival is a summer-long celebration of theatre held each year in Stratford, Ontario. Theatre-goers, actors, and playwrights flock to Stratford to take part—many of the greatest Canadian, American and British actors have played roles at Stratford. It was one of the first and is still one of the most prominent arts festivals in Canada.
The Festival's primary mandate is to present productions of Shakespeare's plays, but it also produces a wide variety of theatre from Greek tragedy to Broadway musicals to contemporary works. By 2017, only three of the 14 productions were based on Shakespeare's works. The following is a chronological list of the productions that have been staged as part of the Stratford Festival since its inception.
On February 17, 2015, AP News reported that the Stratford Festival plans to film all of Shakespeare's plays.

1953

The 1986 season was staged by Artistic Director John Neville with Shakespeare plays produced against a modern play with similar themes or characters.
Artistic Director John Neville staged the 1987 season with an Anti-War theme.
The 2013 season was staged by Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino around the themes of Societies Divided and The Outsider
The 2014 season was staged by Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino around the theme of Madness: Minds Pushed to the Edge
The 2015 season was staged by Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino around the theme of Discovery, with a selection of 13 plays that explore "eureka" moments
The 2016 season was staged by Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino around the theme of After the Victory
The 2017 season was staged by Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino around the theme of Questions of Identity
For the 2018 season, Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino has chosen 12 productions that explore the theme of Free Will
For the 2019 season, Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino has chosen 12 productions that explore the theme of Breaking Boundaries
The 2020 season was to mark the opening of the new Tom Patterson Theatre Centre.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced on April 27, 2020, that the entire season is put on hold, and it remains to be seen whether or not the festival will be cancelled outright. The Festival had previously cancelled all performances between April and June due to COVID-19.
Comedies
Histories
Tragedies
Note: All 3 parts of Henry VI were performed in 1966 and 1980 in an abridged version. In 2002, using the Barton/Hall method of combining 1 Henry VI with the first half of 2 Henry VI, and the second half of 2 Henry VI with 3 Henry VI, the plays were renamed Henry VI: Revenge in France and Henry VI: Revolt in England. In 2016, "Richard II" and "1 Henry IV" were combined as was "2 Henry IV" and "Henry V". The Plays were renamed "Breath of Kings: Rebellion" and "Breath of Kings: Redemption".

Works by other authors produced three times or more